Fluffy Pillows
by Aeryn's Last
Summary: Knowing that he is impulsive and filled with fire, Kyo tries to learn how to charm, while he stumbles inelegantly through an important question. Shigure is amused, Yuki is condescending, and Tohru is…smiling?


**Fluffy Pillows

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**The Challenge:** Write in the fandom of your choice for this challenge, and write a romantic comedy (or plain romance, or plain comedy.) This means **no angst**.

_Knowing that he is impulsive and filled with fire, Kyo tries to learn how to charm, while he stumbles inelegantly through an important question. Shigure is amused, Yuki is condescending, and Tohru is…smiling?

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He was a very impulsive boy. Filled with fire and anger, he had a destructive habit of leaping head first into cutting words and fists. Yes, Kyo knew himself very well, enough to realise that he had to be very careful, or he'd screw this up.

And he didn't want to do that. He'd never hear the end of it from that damned Rat. Or Shigure, for that matter.

She was stood at the sink, hands held under the cold water and an out of tune hum vibrating at her lips. That messy hair of hers was tied haphazardly into a knot at the base of her neck, shoulders bare apart from the thin straps of her apron and top. Kyo eyed her neck before shifting to peek through the gap in the door and survey the battle arena.

At two o'clock was The Rat, cup in front of him. It was full. Kyo cursed silently. Yuki wouldn't leave for another good half hour, if he were to trust the Rat's normal habits. The Dog lounged by the counter, teasingly touching Tohru's arm and chuckling at the Rat's biting threats. And last of all, Hatsuharu sat next to The Rat, zoned out.

Kyo sat back and brooded. That was a pretty damned full battleground. But…he could take them on. They'd be pulp at his feet and he'd lift Tohru above them all and lord it over them. Especially that Yuki.

Stupid Rat.

And Tohru would lean into him and tell him how great he was and how he was so much better than the Rat and –

_The Cat's always been my favourite._

Yeah.

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Kyo lay back and sulked.

_You can't even get a poem right, you pathetic Cat._

He scowled at the stars. Stupid Rat. As if he was any better. He didn't even _have_ the courage to ask Tohru out. He followed her around like a useless pet, moping and fluttering those girly eyelashes at her, as if it would get him anywhere, the stupid _damned _Rat.

Fuming, Kyo kicked at a loose tile. He watched it fall with the air of someone who'd done this many a time and didn't find it very satisfying, but did it anyway.

Bull. He _was_ pathetic.

They'd laughed at him. Like hyenas. They had howled at him and pointed as he stood there, cheeks crimson, having tried to flatter the girl in front of him with poetry. He hadn't trusted himself to write his own. He thanked whatever deity looked down on them all that he hadn't had that humiliation on top of it all.

The battle had been a disaster. His tongue had become thick and heavy, stumbling over the sweet and sickly words of some famous old poet, a profession of love through the images of nature. He had forced himself to look at Tohru, had seen those lips twitch into a smile, and he had fled.

_She'd_ even laughed at him.

Well, fine. The damned Rat could have her.

_Liar. _

When she reached the roof, he ignored her. His brow furrowed to a hellish depth, and his lips twisted into an unconscious snarl. Ready for the upcoming defence of what was sure to be the most trying battle yet.

Girls always fought dirty. And the thing was, you could never be sure if they actually realised that their eyes were getting that big and innocent and soft and made your insides feel like a horde of ticklish wings and mush. If they were actually doing it on purpose.

Tohru settled next to him, knees under her chin, smile still colouring her lips a bright pink hue. His eyes darkened. And she looked at him, remembering the first time she'd found him there.

"You really suck, you know that?" she said, head tilted to the side. And as he turned to her finally and began to snarl, she kissed him. Short, at a strange angle, but so very, very sweet.

Kyo stared at her, slightly in awe and ultimately confused.

"I can't play with words like that damned Yuki!" he insisted, defensive, because he had no knowledge of how to deal with such a situation. And Tohru was still smiling. Kyo was suspicious. Was this a new tactic? Was she taking the battle to a new, bewildering level that he couldn't survive in?

"I…um…I don't need poetry, Kyo," she replied, blushing. He watched her, heart hammering. But didn't she realise? There were so many other things that could happen. So many other complications. So many other –

_Shut up, Kyo. This is what winning is. Getting it and fighting to keep it._

But still he fought. Because he knew nothing else. He'd never won in his life and now that it was here…"Yes, you do, and I'm just too damned awkward all the time."

Fingertips brushed against his cheek, and Tohru looked away, embarrassed as his eyes flew to her in surprise.

"But it's you, Kyo," she said shyly. "And I…um…I like that."

His mind aerobics halted abruptly. Kyo blinked.

_She likes me._

"Oh."

He kissed her again.

Well, he _was_ an impulsive boy.


End file.
